Analysis of The Parrot
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
In painted plumes superbly dress'd,
A native of the gorgeous east,
By many a billow toss'd;
Poll gains at length the British shore,
Part of the captain's precious store,
A present to his toast.
Belinda's maids are soon preferr'd,
To teach him now then a word,
As Poll can master it;
But 'tis her own important charge,
To qualify him more at large,
And make him quite a wit.
Sweet Poll! his doting mistress cries,
Sweet Poll! the mimic bird replies,
And calls aloud for sack.
She next instructs him in the kiss;
'Tis now a little one, like Miss,
And now a hearty smack.
At first he aims at what he hears;
And, listening close with both his ears,
Just catches at the sound;
But soon articulate aloud,
Much to the amusement of the crowd,
And stuns the neighbors round.
A querulous old woman's voice
His humorous talent next employs,
He scolds, and gives the lie,
And now he sings, and now is sick,
Here, Sally, Susan, come, come quick,
Poor Poll is like to die!
Belinda and her bird! 'tis rare
To meet with such a well match'd pair,
The language and the tone,
Each character in every part
Sustain'd with so much grace and art,
And both in unison.
When children first begin to spell,
And stammer out a syllable,
We think them tedious creatures;
But difficulties soon abate,
When birds are to be taught to prate,
And women are the teachers.
Scheme | AXXBBX CCDEED FFGHHG XXIJJI XXKLLK MMXNNX XXOXAO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011001 01010101 1100101 11110101 11010101 010111 111101 1111101 111101 11010101 1101111 011101 11110101 11010101 010111 11011001 11010111 010101 11111111 010011111 110101 1101001 110010101 010101 01001101 110010101 110101 01110111 11010111 111111 01000111 11110111 010001 110001001 01111101 010100 11010111 01010100 11110010 11000101 11111111 0101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,304 |
Words | 247 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 147 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 72 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Parrot" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40166/the-parrot>.
Discuss this William Cowper poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In